


Crash Landing

by sifusugarqueen



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23324947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sifusugarqueen/pseuds/sifusugarqueen
Summary: It was funny the way fate worked. One day, you're just walking home, minding your own business, when something unexpected literally crashes into your life. Zuko was pretty happy it was Katara who crash landed into his.Hopefully she felt the same way.Zutara College AU
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 320





	1. Accidents

**Author's Note:**

> Me: has another fic I've been working on for 6 years and haven't updated in almost a year
> 
> Also Me: you know what I should do? Start another fic.
> 
> The beginning is based on something that actually happened to my friend and I the beginning of our Junior Year. In that case, we were in Zuko's position and it was in no way a romantic encounter but a girl can dream!

It was a bit too early for dinner, Zuko realized, as he stepped off the bus. The air was crisper that evening and somehow even the sunset seemed more subdued - mottled pinks mixing with purples rather than the usual oranges and burgundies. For the first time that semester, the air was chilling, and he could feel that summer was on its last leg, about to shift to fall. Relaxed, Zuko started his brief walk the two blocks to his apartment, relishing in the fact that for the first time in months it didn’t feel like the air was boiling around him.

However, as he was about to reach his building, his evening stroll was interrupted by a large white object hurtling out a window a few feet in front of him.

It was cartoonish, like seeing an anvil materializing above some poor unsuspecting character, only to flatten them into a pancake. Except this time, it was an air conditioning unit falling out of a window and crashing into the bushes below.

Stunned, Zuko simply stared at the object.

_What the hell??_

He walked up to inspect the unit. Luckily - or maybe unluckily depending on the intentions of the person who threw it out – it looked fine. The bushes below had cushioned its fall. Although, it was pretty much wedged into the leaves and branches now, leaving a box shaped indentation in the plants.

 _What kind of insane person is throwing appliances out the window?_ Zuko thought to himself.

A loud exclamation above his head answered his question.

“OH FUCK! Suki, it fell out the window!”

Glancing around, Zuko assumed the frantic yelling was coming from the second-floor window directly above him and the bushes. He took a step back to get a better look and squinted up at the face peering down at him.

“Oh my god, are you okay? It didn’t hit you right? Oh my god.”

It was a girl, around his age he guessed. From where he stood he could see she had brown skin and long curly brown hair. Although the top was pulled away from her face and pinned back, the rest that flowed freely cascaded out the window as she leaned down to talk to him. Zuko didn’t notice much else though, other than the startling bright blue eyes that were gazing down at him frantically.

Realizing she was talking to him, he coughed before responding.

“Uhm, no,” he said, awkwardly, “All good.”

That seemed to be enough to ease the girl’s panic.

“Oh thank god,” she sighed, her hands flying up to cover her face. The moment of relief appeared to be short-lived, however, as when she pulled her hands away, he saw her face had turned bright red. Immediately, she started babbling to him at breakneck speed.

“Oh my god. You probably think I’m crazy or something,” she started frantically, revving onwards before Zuko could even get a response in. “I swear I didn’t just like – I don’t know – throw my air conditioner out the window like a crazy person! It wasn’t bolted in! I thought that’s what my brother did when he installed it!” Zuko watched as her hands flew to her face again in exasperation before immediately gesturing aggressively to the now empty window frame. “How was I supposed to know it was just sitting there?! And you know- it’s like finally nice out – like it’s not fucking hot and sweaty out – and it was so stuffy in here and ahh! I just wanted to let the air in! Oh my god. I can’t believe this just happened.”

Her head disappeared for another second.

“Suki! Why didn’t you tell me it wasn’t bolted in? I feel so stupid! Now there’s this guy standing outside on the sidewalk staring at me! Suki, stop laughing!”

There was a muffled response that Zuko couldn’t hear and the girl started yelling again. Suddenly feeling incredibly more awkward than he already had, Zuko wondered if he should just continue walking and pretend this never happened to save the girl some embarrassment. He was just a bystander after all and only a few yards away from his own apartment building.

Still, the situation was so strange, and Zuko was mildly amused at the flustered girl above him.

Before he could think anymore, the girl poked her head out again. Face still red, but more sheepish now than frantic.

“Sorry, to ask you this,” she called down to Zuko. Her eyes darted away from him nervously but she forced herself to meet his eyes again before she continued. “Do you mind… uh… watching my air conditioner so I can come downstairs and get it?”

Zuko blinked.

“Uh, sure?”

“Ah! Okay thank you!” she said happily, clapping her hands together in thanks. “I’ll be down in like a minute!”

And with that her head disappeared, and Zuko stood in the newfound quiet still mentally processing what had happened. He turned to look at the white box again, half expecting it to disappear and prove he’d been imagining the whole situation.

True to her word though, he heard a door behind him swing open violently and the sound of flip flops against concrete as someone was approaching him. He turned around to see the girl from the window running up to him.

She met his gaze with a sheepish smile, breathing a little heavily most likely from running down the stairs.

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed. Her blue eyes were wide like saucers, and from one look at them Zuko could tell she really meant it.

“Sorry, it must be so creepy for a stranger to just ask you to stand out here. I’m so sorry!”

Zuko bit back a laugh. “A little weird. But it’s okay.” He tilted his head towards to white box that was still nestled in the bush. “The unit looks fine, in case you were wondering. You can probably just take it upstairs with you and put it back in the window.”Her smile brightened. “Ah, that’s great. Thank you!” she said as she bounded over to the bush to try and grab the unit.

“No problem,” Zuko replied, turning around to finally continue to his building. As he stepped forward, he looked over his shoulder one last time to see if she was alright.

She was smaller than he expected, not that he had much time to expect anything given the brevity of their exchange. Dressed in denim shorts and a white blouse, her calf muscles flexed as she stood on her tiptoes to try and reach over the top of the bush. Zuko assumed she couldn’t reach the far side of the box but was trying anyway so as to get a good grip on it. She probably wanted to lift it upwards out of the bush rather than pulling it out horizontally and risking it crashing to the ground if she couldn’t catch it. Good approach, Zuko thought. Although, she seemed to be struggling quite a bit.

Before he even realized what was happening, Zuko was retracing his steps back to the girl.

“Uhm… do you need some help?”

Her head flicked back to him, surprised he was still there. He watched as her crisp blue eyes drifted up for a moment, presumably thinking of a response, before her face twisted into another sheepish smile.

“I mean it would help? But you really don’t have to. I can handle it. Besides, I feel bad wasting your time. You seem like you’re heading somewhere.”

Zuko shrugged. “It’s cool,” he replied as he moved forward. The girl stepped back to give him some space and watched as he lifted the white box out of the bush with relative ease. Holding it securely in his hands, he turned to look at her again. “I was just heading home anyway, and I live next door.”

He handed the box to her and she took it in both hands, sinking a bit under the weight.

“Oh! Are you a student too?” she asked, a fair assumption since most of the residents in the area were other college students. Zuko nodded.

“Yeah, fourth year. You?”

She shifted the box with her knee so it would fit more comfortably in her arms. “Third year. It’s my first semester off campus hence the… incident.”

Zuko chuckled and the girl offered him another warm smile.

“Well, you should probably get going now,” she said to him, turning slightly to indicate she was heading back upstairs. “Thanks so much for your help… uhh.”

“Oh. Uh, Zuko,” he replied slowly. He couldn’t help but notice she appeared to be struggling with the air conditioner, leaning side to side as if she wasn’t sure how to distribute the weight.

Zuko cleared his throat and pointed at the box, “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

Her eyebrows flew up in surprise at his offer, but after another moment she pursed her lips and a look of determination crossed her face instead.

“No, it’s okay, I got it.” She shifted the box again to try and free her hand to wave him away. “Don’t worry! You’ve helped me enough anyways. Thanks, Zuko. Goodnight!”

Zuko didn’t have the chance to reply as she was already hurrying towards the door. For a second, he hesitated, again thinking that he should probably offer to help as the box was about as big as her torso - but to his surprise, when he turned to look at her again she had wrestled open the door of her building with her foot and shot him another smile before disappearing inside.

Zuko snorted and shook his head, smiling, before he finally headed home.

Later that night as Zuko was back in his apartment cooking dinner, he realized he hadn’t asked for the girl’s name.

* * *

With a grunt, Katara shoved open the door to her apartment with her shoulder. After she got in the building, she realized much to her dismay that she had forgotten to check if the elevator was down. In their building, it was more likely to be down than functional, but she hadn’t bothered to check or even think to make the correct assumption. It wasn’t something she usually used, given her apartment was only on the second floor, but the air conditioner was quite heavy and about half her size. She suddenly regretted refusing the nice guy’s offer to help her carry it up.

When she finally got to her apartment, she felt herself sweating from the trip up the stairs.

“Have a nice trip?” a voice called from the couch. Katara scowled.

Suki was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table. An apple in one hand and the TV remote in the other, Katara assumed she was watching some sports game.

“Yeah, it was lovely,” Katara replied bitterly. She shuffled over away from the door and exhaled slowly as she placed the heavy air conditioning unit on the floor. She felt her lower back throb and she winced before stretching her hands to the sky to stretch out her back. As she did so, she shot her friend another glare.

“I could’ve used some help, you know,” Katara muttered to Suki. The latter shrugged and took another bite from her apple.

“True, but it was pretty funny. Besides you ran out the door so fast, I couldn’t have offered even if I wanted to.”

Still frowning, Katara passed Suki to head into the kitchen and pour herself a glass of cold barley tea.

“Well, I handled it myself, anyways,” she said a little smugly before coming back into the living room to sit on the couch next to her friend. Katara was right, she was watching a tennis match.

“That you did,” Suki agreed. She took another bite of her apple and chewed thoughtfully before speaking again. “I’m glad you didn’t hit anyone though, that could’ve been bad.”

Katara groaned, “Right? I was so worried. There was only one person there though, and I didn’t hit him. He was really nice about it, too. He even offered to bring it upstairs for me, but I figured I could handle it.”

Suki hummed thoughtfully. “Oh, was that who you were talking to? Do you know him?”

Katara shook her head, “No, I’ve never seen him before either. He said he was a fourth year though? Maybe you know him?”

Turning to look at Katara now she shrugged and cocked her head to the side. “Maybe?” she mused before asking “What’s his name?”

“Zuko?”

Suki pursed her lip, brow furrowing in thought. “Mmm… doesn’t sound too familiar, but you know big school. What did he look like?”

Katara paused. “Well… uh black hair, pretty fair skin. He’s tall but not like absurdly tall – I was about up to his neck I’d say. Golden colored eyes, I think. And he dressed in a lot of dark colors.”

Suki frowned, “Katara, that sounds like a lot of people here from the Fire Nation.”

Katara bit her lip. She pictured the guy - Zuko - that she'd met downstairs. The first thing she'd noticed about him hadn't been anything she'd told Suki. Instead it had been the large red scar that covered almost half of his face. It wasn't like it was scary or unsettling to Katara - it was just there the way a person's nose was - but for some reason she felt bad reducing his description to just "a guy with a really big scar." He had been really nice to her.

Despite her thoughts, Katara sighed. She figured that descriptive factor would help Suki out the most.

“He, uh, has this pretty big scar over his left eye.”

At this, Suki’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! You should’ve started with that! I’ve definitely seen that guy around. Although I didn’t know his name.”

Katara brows furrowed a bit. “Yeah, sorry, it felt a little weird to just start with the scar. I’m sure it gets him enough attention as is… I didn’t want to just refer to him as that.”

Suki shrugged. “You’re probably right,” she admitted, but then added, “I don’t think it matters too much though. From what I remember he’s pretty hot. You should have let him come up!”

Katara, who had been taking a sip of her tea, suddenly choked. She coughed loudly before exclaiming “Suki!”.

The older girl held her hands up. “I’m just saying, you haven’t had much going on ever since you dumped You-Know-Who” – Katara scowled at the moniker but Suki continued, pretending not to notice - “Come on, Katara. It’s been like over a year since you’ve even gone on date.” Suki nudged her with her elbow. “And you have to admit, almost crushing a boy with an air conditioning unit is a pretty adorable meet-cute.”

Katara huffed. She chose not to address anything Suki said as she stood up to put her pitcher of tea back in the kitchen. As she walked away, she could hear Suki’s laugh again.

“Oh just agree with me, Katara! He’s pretty hot!”

Refusing to respond, Katara hoped Suki could hear her slam the fridge door shut.


	2. Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah…” trailing off before he grimaced in embarrassment. “Sorry, I don’t think you mentioned your name when we met?”
> 
> Katara blinked. “Oh! I’m Katara,” she stuck her hand out across the table and he took it in his own to shake.
> 
> “Katara,” he repeated, mouth curving into a lopsided smile as his eyes found their way to hers again. “Nice to officially meet you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Might as well since we're in quarantine, and I miss college :(
> 
> Enjoy!

“Hey, Katara isn’t that the guy?”

Katara didn’t look up from her textbook. “What guy?”

“Air conditioner guy?”

_Ah, right._

Katara spared a glance out the window of the cafe to follow Suki’s line of sight. Sure enough, there was Zuko, waiting to cross the street. He was probably heading home, she assumed since they were in the cafe on the street level of their apartment building and he lived next door.

It had been a few weeks since their last encounter, and Katara had hoped Suki would have forgotten about it.

“Who’s air conditioner guy?” Aang asked. He leaned across Katara’s side of the table to get a good glimpse out the window.

“Katara’s future boyfriend,” Suki intoned, which made Katara squeak. “Suki!”

Aang turned to Katara, eyebrows knit up and gray eyes looking at her questioningly. 

“She’s kidding, Aang,” Katara said, shooting Suki a glare. The other girl just shrugged and continued to peer out the window at Zuko. “He’s just some guy I almost crushed with my air conditioner a few weeks ago. Remember? I told you about it.”

“Oh, right.” Aang mumbled, leaning farther towards the window so that he covered the whole of her part of the table. “That guy with a scar.”

“The hot guy with a scar,” Suki added poignantly which made Katara squeak her roommate’s name again.

Aang leaned even farther into Katara’s space, trying to get a good look out the window at the guy who was currently crossing the street and who, Katara realized with panic, would soon be close enough to see the faces openly staring at him from the window.

Immediately, Katara yanked Aang back into his seat by the collar of his shirt. “Stop!” Katara hissed, “He’s going to see us all staring at him!”

Suki snorted and Aang looked sheepish, but Katara ignored them and tried her best to turn her attention back to her book until Zuko passed. If they weren’t causing a scene, he probably wouldn’t even notice them sitting inside the cafe.

That was, again, so long as they didn’t make a scene.

“Hey, you!” Suki yelled suddenly, making Katara, Aang, and the other few patrons in the cafe jump in their seats as she banged a hand on the window sharply. Katara felt all the blood leave her face.

“Oh my god, Suki. Oh my god, what the fuck are you doing?” Katara hissed. She felt the eyes in the cafe turn to her, making her sink into her seat and lift her textbook up to block the view of her face. All she could do was peek over the edge of the pages in horror as her roommate continued to hit the window with her hand.

“Getting his attention, duh,” Suki replied. She gave Katara a toothy grin and then turned back to wave out the window at a confused looking Zuko a few feet away. Katara glanced around in horror at the other people in the cafe who were openly staring at them with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

“ _Suki!”_ she hissed, “You’re going to get us kicked out!?”

Suki laughed, “Nah, they love us here. They wouldn’t kick out Aang - he’s their best customer! Who else would eat all their weird vegan desserts.”

Aang nodded his head. “She has a point, Katara. I come here almost every day.”

At that Aang turned to the counter and gave a thumbs up to Kenji, the worker at the register. Kenji gave him a thumbs up back.

Katara groaned and dropped both her book and her whole head onto the tabletop. “I hate it here. I’m going home.”

“Too late, Katara,” Suki said slyly. “Air conditioner boy is here. Look alive.”

Katara shot up in her seat so fast, it was like lightning down her spine. 

Suki was pantomiming to a very confused looking Zuko who stood on the other side of the window. He looked nice, Katara thought. She hadn’t noticed how golden his eyes were the first time they met. 

Suddenly those very golden eyes turned to her and widened in recognition. He gave her a shy wave to which Katara smiled back awkwardly. He started to say something but then stopped suddenly, his face growing a bit red as he appeared to remember that they were on opposite sides of the window and she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“Ah, perfect,” Katara heard Suki say. As she said this, she ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbled something on it before holding it up to the glass. It said, “Come inside! She wants to talk to you!”

Zuko stared at the paper that was held up to his face with a raised brow. Suki had a wide smile on her face and was switching between pointing at the sign and gesturing for him to come in. 

Katara felt her whole body squirm with embarrassment, but when Zuko looked at her seemingly asking for confirmation she gave him another awkward smile and shrugged. He shrugged back and turned to walk around the building to the front entrance of the cafe.

As soon as he turned around and started walking, Suki turned back to Katara with a look of giddy success. That smile was wiped clean of her face, however, after taking one look at the fury on Katara’s face.

“Oh fuck.”

Aang reached a hand over to pat Katara’s shoulder, but she shoved it off her shoulder and glared at Suki fiercely.

“ _Why. Did. You. Do. That?_ ” she hissed at her friend, to which Suki grimaced. She glanced over her shoulder and Katara followed her eyes to see where Zuko was. He was approaching the door so they had about 10 seconds before they had to be civil again.

“Just calm down,” Suki whisper-yelled at her. Katara shot her another glare and Suki winced. “C’mon, Katara! Nothing bad happened! We didn’t scare him away! He’s coming inside and it’s all good! Right Aang?”

Aang was pouting at Suki and he mumbled something under his breath, that Katara didn’t catch as she turned her attention back to the approaching Zuko. Katara stomped Suki’s foot under the table, and the other girl winced again, but otherwise they pretended that everything was normal.

“Uh. Hey?” Zuko said awkwardly as he stood above the table. “Did you… uh… need something from me?”

All the venom she’d been feeling in her conversation with Suki suddenly drained from her body and replaced itself with a cold sweat. Katara smiled, trying to swallow down the nervous chuckle that had found its way to her throat. “Oh, uh yeah! Hi, Zuko… right?” she said a little too enthusiastically. 

“Yeah…” trailing off before he grimaced in embarrassment. “Sorry, I don’t think you mentioned your name when we met?”

Katara blinked. “Oh! I’m Katara,” she stuck her hand out across the table and he took it in his own to shake.

“Katara,” he repeated, mouth curving into a lopsided smile as his eyes found their way to hers again. “Nice to officially meet you?” 

She chuckled nervously, pulling her hand back under the table and wiping her palm on her pants. “Sorry about all of the…commotion.” At her apology, she saw Suki grin at her in the corner of her eye. Katara ignored her. “Do you, uh, want to sit?” she asked with a gesture to the seat across from Aang and next to Suki.

“Oh no, it’s okay” Zuko replied, “I don’t want to intrude-” he started but was immediately interrupted by the squeak of a chair as Suki pulled the seat next to her away from the table. She patted the seat with her hand.

“It’s cool!” Suki said with a bright smile. “Zuko, right? I’m Suki, Katara’s roommate, and this is Aang.”

Aang nodded, observing the newcomer with his wide gray eyes and a sort of half smile.

“Oh, well, thank you,” Zuko said as he slid his backpack off. He put it underneath the table and sat down gingerly. He seemed nervous or maybe just a little awkward which Katara thought was totally justified given the situation.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” he said politely. Suki grinned and Aang nodded.

“Do you want a coffee? Or tea?” Katara asked him. 

“Oh, don’t worry I can get it myself,” Zuko started. He moved to stand up again, but Katara shooed him off. She was already standing and maneuvered behind Aang’s seat to head over to the register. 

“My treat,” she said with a smile, “as a thank you for the other day.”

Zuko blinked in surprise. “Oh, well thank you then,” he said as he gave her another half smile, “A coffee would be great.” 

“Creamer? Sugar?”

“Maybe one sugar, but black is fine too.”

Katara nodded and flashed him another smile, before scurrying over to the register. As she turned, her back to them, she felt her whole face flush red. 

_I’m going to murder Suki later. Oh my god._

“He’s cute,” Kenji said with a smirk as Katara approached.

“Not you too!” Katara groaned which only made Kenji laugh.

“I’m only teasing,” he said with another chuckle.

Katara scowled and ordered Zuko’s coffee, along with a cookie for herself. She needed sugar to deal with this stress.

From the register, she watched as her friends talked with Zuko. To Katara’s relief, Suki seemed to return to her normal self, now that her goal of getting Zuko to join them had been achieved. She spoke warmly to Zuko, nodding whenever he said something and appearing to ask him a few questions. It wasn’t surprising, as Suki had a naturally easy-going personality. When she wasn’t trying to make Katara’s life difficult, she was usually very chill and easily made friends. Although, she did have a bit of a mischievous streak when her blue eyes would flash and a wry smile would find its way onto her face. Seeing that smile the first time, Katara knew immediately why her brother had fallen for her.

Aang was similarly friendly, despite not being quite so talkative today. From here, Katara could see his knee bouncing up and down under the table. Not a nervous tick, but more so to release some of the loads of energy he always seemed to have. Even now, in his first year of college he still sat like he wasn’t used to how long his limbs had grown in the past year. From here she could see his gentle smile easing its way onto his face as he spoke to Zuko. She sighed with relief, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything Aang would say to Zuko.

Not that she cared that much what he thought for any particular reason, but she didn’t want the idea of her being crazy to spread around campus.

“Here’s your order,” Kenji said, calling Katara back from her thoughts. She gave him a relieved smile and he winked at her as she took the warm coffee mug and cookie into her hands and went back to her table.

“Katara!” Suki said when Katara arrived. “Did you know Zuko is friends with Toph?”

She placed the coffee down in front of Zuko who murmured a thank you and then slid back behind Aang to her seat.

“Our Toph? That’s a surprise! I didn’t know she had other friends,” Katara quipped which made Aang laugh.

Zuko shrugged as he blew the steam on his coffee. “Yeah, Toph Beifong. Our families know each other.”

Suki sipped from her now cold tea and quirked an eyebrow at Zuko. “Family friends, huh? You know her family is loaded… right?”

Zuko shrugged and brought his mug to his lips, not adding anything.

“That’s cool,” Aang said, offering Zuko a smile. “Why haven’t we met before today?”

Zuko shrugs again, “Well she is a freshman so it’s not like we’ve really gotten the chance to hang out at school. Only when I’m home for breaks which isn’t that often.”

“I’m gonna text her that we met you,” Suki decided, pulling out her phone. Her thumbs flew over the screen and two seconds later, her phone beeped. Suki read the message and grinned.

“She said, “Tell the hothead to come to our party Friday.””

Katara snorted and gave Zuko a look. “Are you the hothead?” she asked which made him scowl.

"That’s not a bad idea actually!” Suki said thoughtfully, tapping on her chin. “What do you think, Aang?”

Aang didn’t seem as sure. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, “Sure, Suki. You’re the captain after all. And it’s at Sokka’s, so it’s up to you guys.”

Suki grinned, satisfied with the answer. “Okay, it’s settled. Katara and Zuko are both invited.”

“Excuse me,” Katara said flatly, “Why am I invited?”

Suki scoffed, “You’ve always been invited, Katara. You’re just never down.”

“Well, it’s still true. I’m not down,” Katara said, turning up her nose.

Suki pouted. “Oh, c’mon, Katara! It’ll be fun!” she whined. “You don’t want to leave Zuko here all alone do you?”

Zuko blushed as Suki nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

“I didn’t say I was free either…” he mumbled, but Suki ignored him.

Katara frowned, “Suki, you can’t force either of us to go. Maybe we have plans?”

Suki rolled her eyes, “Like what? Getting wine drunk by yourself and watching food reality shows? Cause I know that’s what you’ll be doing, Katara.”

Katara sputtered. “You don’t know that!”

Suki grinned. “Yes, I do~” she said in a sing-songy voice, “Because I live with you!”

“Well are you going to go, Zuko?” Katara asked in an attempt to turn the conversation away from herself. Seeing his face, however, she suddenly felt bad for sicking Suki on him when they’d only just met.

Red-faced, Zuko averted his eyes as he answered, “Well.. thanks for the invitation, but I wouldn’t want to intrude if it’s a friends only thing-”

Suki interrupted him, “Don’t worry he’s going.”

Zuko gave Suki a baffled look. Suki simply shrugged as she took a nonchalant sip of her tea. “It’s Toph’s job to convince Zuko,” she explained, “and you know how she is: stubborn and aggressive. Zuko’s definitely going”

Ah, fuck, Suki had a point.

“Well, that still doesn’t mean I’ll go,” Katara said, crossing her arms and gazing defiantly across the table at Suki.

Suki held eye contact with her for a few seconds before seeming to get a good idea. With a sickly sweet smile, that made Katara’s stomach twist, she turned to Aang.

“Oh, but, Katara…. Aang really wants you to be there. Right, Aang?”

The younger boy, who had been removing himself from the conflict, blushed when the whole table turned his attention to him. He rubbed his neck sheepishly before he turned to Katara.

Immediately, Katara knew she was going to lose. She could never say no to Aang and everyone knew it. Her kryptonite.

“Well… yeah… I would really like it if you went, Katara,” he said, a blush covering his cheeks but a wide smile on his face. “We haven’t hung out that much aside from studying since this year started…. You should have some fun too while you’re still in college…”

Silence.

_Damn it._

“Fine,” Katara relented with a huff. “But I’m not getting drunk.”

“We’ll see!” Suki said in a sing-songy voice. "Now, come on, Aang, I'll buy you another pastry for your success."

Aang's flew out of his seat. "Vegan custard egg tart?"

Suki nodded and skipped to the register, Aang trailing behind her.

Katara blanched and turned her attention back to the very confused boy sitting at the other side of the table. “I’m sorry about my friends, Zuko,” she told him sincerely. “You really don’t have to go if you don’t feel comfortable. 

Zuko shook his head and sighed. “You heard Suki - Toph is an unstoppable force," Zuko replied in defeat which made Katara smirk. Seeing her smile, he gave her a small half smile in return that even across the table made her face warm.

"So, I guess I’ll see you there, Katara.”

  



	3. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suki batted a hand to his chest. “Sokka,” she scolded, “I told you. That’s Zuko.”
> 
> Sokka paused for a second before his mouth opened into a small “o” shape.
> 
> “Ah, yes…” he said sagely, “I do remember you mentioning that name. Katara’s friend right?” 
> 
> He gave his sister a look over his shoulder and she scowled at him.
> 
> “Stop being annoying, Sokka,” she all but hissed.
> 
> Zuko didn’t try to think too much about what any of that meant. Instead, he brushed his hand on his pant leg before extending it out to the other boy. “Nice to meet you, Sokka. Thanks for having me.”

“Katara! We’re already late, hurry up!”

Katara grimaced, her fingers fumbling to fasten her necklace clasp. She was sitting at her desk and peering at herself in her much too small desk mirror, trying to get ready.

“I know, I know,” she snapped at Suki who stood on the other side of the closed door.

Katara glanced quickly at her phone to see the time. It wasn’t even ten-thirty yet, why was Suki in such a rush.

“Ugh, what am I doing,” she muttered to herself as she tied the straps of the blue scarf around her head and threw on a few swipes of mascara and lipgloss for good measure.

She glanced at herself in the mirror a last time as she stood to head to the door and felt her stomach lurch again.

“Maybe I should change my shirt,” she mumbled as she tugged the blue crop top to cover more of her stomach. Katara wasn’t really the self conscious type, but still she couldn’t help but feel a little too _soft-looking_ dressed like this. However, the sound of Suki furiously knocking on her door snapped her out of her thoughts. 

Katara flung open the door, “Okay, I’m ready sheesh.”

Suki gave Katara a once over before grinning at her. “You look cute. Thought you weren’t excited to join us tonight.”

Katara made a face at her and rolled her eyes, but she felt herself blush a little as Suki’s comment eased some of her nervousness. Yes, she wasn’t the biggest fan of college parties but it was fun to wear something nicer than jeans and sweatshirts.

“What are you bringing?” Katara asked as she slipped on her sneakers. Suki held up a tote bag which made a clink noise.

“Midori and rum. Did you want anything else?”

She sighed, “No, it’s fine. Just wanted to make sure we weren’t just drinking watery beer or Sokka’s specialty.”

Suki laughed as she went to shut off the lights and open the front door.

“Don’t worry, girl. I’ll take care of you.”

* * *

“This beer tastes like shit.”

Toph and Zuko hung close to each other in the corner of the tiny kitchen. Zuko leant on the counter by the sink while Toph sat atop it, her legs swinging freely as she cradled her drink in her hand. The white lights seemed obnoxiously bright compared to the slowly fading LED light strips that illuminated the main space of the house and leaked into the kitchen from the serving window. Some kind of EDM that Zuko didn’t recognize was blasting through a speaker in the side room where there was a table for drinking games. A few minutes ago, there had been some cheering and chanting as someone downed a drink.

It wasn’t as rowdy as Zuko was expecting but it definitely felt full given that the house was on the smaller side. There seemed to be a few distinct groups: the Taekwondo team which were apparently Toph and Suki’s friends, some soccer guys who seemed pretty cozy with Sokka - the host of the party, Suki’s boyfriend, and Katara’s brother Zuko found out - and a few random clusters of people who seemed to know each other but that Zuko couldn’t really place. 

Zuko took a sip from his cup and pursed his lips. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s pretty bad, but like I’d rather drink this than whatever’s in that thing next to you.”

Toph blinked and extended her arm to her left until it bumped against the water jug.

“Oh. Is this the jungle juice?”

“‘Sokka’s Cactus Juice’ according to the label.”

There was a piece of paper taped messily to the container that had a photo of Sokka smiling and holding what looked like the lobbed off top of a cactus with a cocktail umbrella sticking out of it.

Toph grinned. “Oh well in that case,” she said and snatched Zuko’s cup with more deftness than he expected from a blind girl and flamboyantly poured the rest of her beer into it before shoving the now full cup back into his hands.

Zuko scowled at her as she happily poured herself a helping of the cactus juice. Of course, the expression was wasted on her and so Zuko sighed, resigning to just let it go. He took another sip of the shitty beer, grimaced, and then took a bigger gulp. At least if he got a little tipsy it would taste better.

Over the rim of his glass, Zuko glanced at Toph who was enthusiastically drinking from her new drink. Toph looked pretty much the same from the last time he had seen her. _When was that? Two years ago now?_ Honestly, Zuko couldn’t remember the last time he’d been home.

His friend had always been pretty small for her age. Even now at eighteen she couldn’t have been any taller than five feet. The way her thick black hair shrouded her face and made it look even smaller didn’t help. She had the looks of a porcelain doll - a porcelain doll that Zuko knew could easily stomp him out and make grown men cry.

“What’s even in that?” he asked as Toph took a big gulp of the unknown concoction. She licked her lips thoughtfully and shrugged.

“I don’t know, but the last time I drank it I woke up in a box in Suki’s closet.”

Zuko’s brow wrinkled. “You’re kidding right?”

Toph grinned toothily. “Maybe,” she replied as she poured herself some more, “but Sokka always looks like he’s having a blast so might as well give it a try.”

At that, there was a whoop from the other room that was probably Sokka himself. 

“If you want to have a good time you probably shouldn’t be hanging out with me then,” Zuko says. He had meant for it to sound like a joke, but after the words left his mouth, they sounded too vulnerable and pretty pathetic. He suddenly felt embarrassed.

However, Toph didn’t seem to notice the undercurrent of his question. Instead, she replied in her usual frank tone.

“You make a good point, Zuzu.” Zuko grimaced at the childhood nickname, but Toph continued. “I wouldn’t mind a game of beer pong… You should see how hyped everyone gets when the little blind girl sinks all her shots.”

Zuko imagined Toph in the middle of a crowded room, sinking trick shots from behind her back all while shit-talking the other team with a mad grin on her face. 

“I made a frat bro cry once when I wiped the floor with him,” Toph continued proudly, which made Zuko chuckle.

“What did you bet?” He asked her and she laughed.

“I’m not telling, but let’s just say I am no longer allowed at that frat house on the grounds of ‘illegal gambling.’”

Zuko snorted. That definitely sounded like Toph.

“But anyway,” she said more seriously, steering the conversation back to his original question. “I feel bad for you, I guess. And kind’ve responsible since I did drag you all the way from your apartment to this party where you don’t even know anyone. Considering that you’re an antisocial loser, I doubt you’d even try and make any friends.”

“Hey,” Zuko snapped, offended, but Toph ignored him and giggled as she elbowed him sharply in the ribs to show she was teasing. He rolled his eyes and finished the last of his beer before helping himself to some of the cactus juice. The warmth of the alcohol was seeping into his body and he was sure his face was flushing. When he turned his back to her, he was surprised when Toph continued in a soft voice.

“Plus, since you stopped coming home… I guess I… I dunno, like, _missed_ you or some bullshit like that...” she mumbled before taking another big swig of her drink. It was a good thing Toph was blind because she would’ve seen the soft expression that appeared on Zuko’s face and undoubtedly knocked it clean off with her fist.

Her next sentence did end up having the same effect, however.

“I also wanted to hear how nervous you get when Katara shows up.”

“What??” Zuko started, making some of his drink slosh out of his cup.“I-I’m not nervous?? Why would I be nervous?” He asked defensively as he reached for a napkin on the counter to furiously dabbed at the liquid seeping into the fabric of his denim jacket. Why did he even wear this stupid jacket anyways? It was hot enough in the building already.

Toph laughed a little too loudly and Zuko knew that she wasn’t sober anymore. Her head swung and she tipped back, head thudding into the kitchen cabinet above her. Still, she turned her face to him and grinned knowingly, like her milky eyes could see straight into his thoughts.

“Oh, sure, Zuko. Suki told me the whole ‘meet-cute’ thing - which was so cringey by the way. It was like something straight out of some TV drama. - But, yeah, I mean you’re not the best around pretty girls, and I’m assuming Katara is very pretty since every guy here is nervous when they talk to her. Why would you be different?”

At that, Zuko was curious, “What do you mean, every guy?”

“I mean every guy,” she repeated as if that answered the question. When Zuko didn’t reply she sighed and offered some more information.

“Okay, well… most of the people here - well the guys anyways and maybe some girls” she said, gesturing over the counter to the other room where Zuko could see people drunkenly swaying and yelling.

“Most of them are Sokka’s friends. And most of Sokka’s friends have big, fat, stinking crushes on Katara.”

Zuko scoffed. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” he said, which made Toph raise her eyebrows.

Pursing her lips, she gave him a look.

“You met Aang, right?”

Zuko thought of the younger boy and the look of adoration that was so obvious on his face when he looked at Katara. Zuko had just met him but his feelings were so blatantly obvious that Zuko wasn’t sure how Katara hadn’t noticed.

“Okay…” Zuko replied, “but that’s one person…”

Toph pointed across the room into the mess of people again.

“Is there a guy over there, wearing a headband, has a really ugly mustache?”

Zuko glanced over and there was. He was engaged in a game of beer pong and currently aiming to throw his ping pong ball across the table. “Yeah.”

“That’s Haru. He’s been in love with Katara since their freshman year,” Toph explained, “Apparently he has some family issues she helped him with, and he’s been obsessed with her ever since.”

Zuko took another look at the guy more closely this time. He seemed pretty normal, aside from the stringy mustache - fairly fit and dressed in pretty simple but not unfashionable clothes. Very unassuming and the type of guy you’d probably bring home to meet your parents. Wasn’t that the type of guy most girls would settle for?

As Zuko mulled over his thoughts, Toph continued again, “Okay, is there a smaller kid with really thick glasses? He has crutches.”

Zuko leaned over a bit to get a better look out the serving window into the living room. There was a kid that looked the way Toph described. He was sitting on the couch with a couple of other guys. They were fiddling with the laptop connected to the speaker as they were trying to pick a new song.

“That’s Teo,” Toph explained, “He’s a civil engineering major like Sokka and the same thing happened with him. Apparently, Katara’s the first girl that he felt like ‘ever truly talked to him as a normal person and not with pity,’ so he’s been in love with her too.”

“Oh. I see,” Zuko said, feeling like he understood what Toph was getting at. “Sounds pretty one-sided.”

“Yes! And that’s the problem with these guys!” Toph groaned, throwing up her arms in exasperation. Zuko eyed the cup in her hand nervously, but thankfully, nothing spilled. 

“Katara’s nice to them once, listens to their problems for a bit and gives them some normal compassion and all of a sudden the sun is shining out of her ass! And what do they do for her?! Nothing! These assholes!”

Zuko snorted at Toph’s crude comment, but he felt his mouth quirking up into a grin. Toph wasn’t necessarily the most affectionate person and he didn’t know much about her relationship with her college friends, but he could tell that she did care about Katara based on what she was saying.

“I mean, honestly, Aang’s the best out of all of them because at least he doesn’t say anything weird. Also, he and Katara have been friends since they were kids so they’ve been through a lot together! But, ah, these other fuckers need to chill.” At that Toph grunted, and polished off the rest of her drink. Zuko noticed she swayed a little bit as she did, so he gingerly took her cup from her hands and filled it with water from the tap behind him before handing it back to her.

“Water,” he said and she grunted again but obliged.

“I don’t know why you’re telling me all of this, Toph,” Zuko said. He reached over and put his hand underneath the cup to gently move it and her hand towards her face. “Drink,” he commanded. She stuck out her tongue at him but then took a big sip.

Zuko continued, “I’m not one of those guys you’re talking about, nor do I want to be,” he clarified. “Katara and I are just…” he thought for a moment. He wasn’t really sure if they were even friends since technically they had just met. “...acquaintances?”

Toph let out a loud burp and wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her t-shirt. “I know!” she blurted out. “I’m just telling you to tell you!”

Zuko rolled his eyes and told her to drink more water.

Toph took another sip, but then paused as though a thought just popped up in her head. “You know, I don’t know why I’m complaining. It apparently used to be a lot worse before I got here. Apparently most of the goons are scared away now because of Sokka’s overprotectiveness, Suki being scary, and the whole thing with Jet.”

Zuko’s brow quirked up, “Jet?” he asked, but was interrupted immediately by someone stumbling into the kitchen. 

It was Sokka, drunkenly hanging off of Suki’s shoulders. He had a beer raised in one hand and the other wrapped tightly around his girlfriend’s neck while he kept leaning down to nuzzle his face into her hair. Suki’s expression looked irritated, but she had a faint blush on her cheeks and an arm tucked securely around his waist. 

Trailing behind them was an on edge looking Katara and a jovial Aang. Aang was chattering rapidly to Katara who appeared to only be half-listening, nodding and giving a few words to show engagement. Her eyes, however, were darting around. Eventually they fell on Zuko and her mouth quirked into a shy smile. He felt his face heat up and cursed to himself. They had just met, he reminded himself. Also he was twenty-one and shouldn’t be getting all nervous because a cute girl smiled at him.

“Oh! There you guys are!” Suki said cheerily when she noticed Zuko and Toph in the corner of the kitchen. Sokka lifted his face from Suki’s hair, cocked his head to the side, and squinted in an attempt to get a better look at the pair his girlfriend was addressing.

You could tell Sokka and Katara were siblings. They had the same distinctive brown skin and blue eyes that showed they were from one of the poles. While Katara’s face was rounder and softer, their facial features were eerily similar. Sokka was a lot taller than Katara too, probably around Zuko’s height, and where Katara’s body was soft curves, Sokka was built with lean muscle. His hair was shaved on the sides but was long on the top where it was gathered up away from his face in a ponytail. 

“I see Toph,” he said flatly, “but who are you?”

Suki batted a hand to his chest. “Sokka,” she scolded, “I told you. That’s Zuko.”

Sokka paused for a second before his mouth opened into a small “o” shape.

“Ah, yes…” he said sagely, “I do remember you mentioning that name. Katara’s friend right?” 

He gave his sister a look over his shoulder and she scowled at him.

“Stop being annoying, Sokka,” she all but hissed.

Zuko didn’t try to think too much about what any of that meant. Instead, he brushed his hand on his pant leg before extending it out to the other boy. “Nice to meet you, Sokka. Thanks for having me.”

Sokka blinked when he realized Zuko had spoken to him. Quickly, he unwound himself from Suki and stood at his full height, meeting Zuko with a level gaze as he took his hand in a firm grip.

“Zuko,” Sokka said carefully, as though assigning the name to his face. “It’s nice to meet you.” From the steadiness of his handshake, Zuko guessed that Sokka was much more sober than he was acting.

“I hope you’re having a good time,” Sokka continued as the sharp look he had given Zuko melted away into a toothy grin, “Feel free to help yourself to whatever.”

“Don’t worry!” Toph chimed in, hopping off the counter and swinging around to get between Zuko and Sokka, “He’s been helping himself to the cactus juice.”

Sokka folded his arms across his chest and nodded seriously. “Ah yes, the cactus juice or as I like to call it: Sokka’s Simp Sauce.”

Toph and Aang burst into laughter while Suki grimaced at her boyfriend’s words.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was warm, friendly, and a little bit unsettling for Zuko. He licked his lips and took another sip of his drink in an attempt to keep his hands busy. It’d been a while since he’d been to a party… or even around so many people his age outside of class.

“Please tell me you don’t plan on drinking that toxic sludge for the rest of the night.”

Zuko blinked hard before realizing who was speaking to him. Katara had eased her way around the group and appeared next to Zuko. She was peering up at him with a smirk on her face that made him swallow hard. 

Toph was right, Katara was very pretty. 

Immediately, he remembered what he’d said earlier, about them barely knowing each other as he ripped his eyes away from her to his drink and shoved his drunken thoughts to the back of his mind. So what if she was pretty, there were a lot of pretty girls in the world.

“It doesn’t taste too bad. It’s pretty watery,” he replied. He held out his hand and flexed his fingers, feeling the tingling sensation from the alcohol in his system. “And it’s working.”

Katara smirked again, “True, you are looking pretty red. I should probably catch up.” With that, she reached into the tote bag that was at her side and pulled out a frosty green bottle that she dropped heavily on the counter with a thud. She glanced over the counter and collected a clean cup which she filled with some lemonade, ginger ale, and the green drink. 

“You want to try?” she asked Zuko as she held out her cup to him. Tentatively, he reached for her cup and took a small sip. 

“Huh. That tastes like melon candy...” He said in surprise as he handed it back to her. She smiled again and took a sip herself. 

“Yeah, I don’t really like alcohol all too much so this tastes delicious. I wish there was some ice though...”

“Oooooh, Katara! Can I have a sip?” Katara and Zuko’s attention whipped away from each other towards Aang who had materialized next to them. Zuko realized he hadn’t noticed the others had disappeared until that moment.

Katara looked surprised at the request. “Oh! Sure, Aang… but I thought you don’t drink?”

Zuko swore Aang’s eyes flickered towards him for a second, but before he was sure, Aang was taking a big gulp from Katara’s drink as well. He handed it back to her, his face souring a bit when the alcohol settled on his tongue. Still he powered through with just a small cough and gave Katara a forced smile.

“Oh, you know,” he said in a rough voice, “I’m a college man now. This is all part of the experience.”

Katara giggled and patted Aang’s shoulder, which made the younger boy beam. “Okay, Aang, let me know if you want more later.”

Aang nodded, but then his attention was diverted by Toph who suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Alright, twinkletoes. Sokka and Suki challenged me to beer pong on the condition that I take you as a partner for a handicap.”

Aang pulled away sharply with a deep frown, “Why would I be a handicap?”

“Because you’ve never played beer pong so I’m sure you suck,” Toph said brusquely. Aang visibly deflated, his lower lip jutting out into a pout. 

“That doesn’t mean I’ll be bad,” he whined.

Immediately, Katara reached forward again, another hand on his shoulder. 

“You’re right, Aang. Besides, I’m sure _with Toph’s help_ you’ll be better!” Katara said, gentle at first, but then directing the latter half at Toph with gritted teeth.

Toph rolled her eyes, getting the message. “Yeah, yeah. Practice or whatever. Don’t worry I’ll teach ya and we’ll win.” Again, she reached for Aang’s hand and tugged him away from Katara and Zuko with heavy footsteps.

“Come watch me, Katara!” Aang called hopefully over his shoulder, but soon enough he was whisked away, leaving Katara and Zuko alone in the kitchen.

In the sudden silence, Zuko found himself suddenly very, very aware of how warm he was. Was he sweating? How many drinks had he had already? Three maybe? He turned his head a little bit, but the room stayed firmly planted. A good sign, but still, he helped himself to some water from the tap. As he did so, he felt Katara’s eye on him.

“So, are you having a good time?” Katara asked him. Zuko could hear the sincerity in her voice, and from his limited knowledge of her so far, she did seem like the type to be worried about something like that.

Zuko nodded, “Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a party, so I was a little nervous but it’s been fine.”

Katara’s shoulders relaxed significantly at his reply, “Yeah, I feel that. I haven’t been to a party since… maybe last semester?”

Zuko nodded politely, not wanting to tell her he hadn’t been to one since his sophomore year or so.

“I’m sorry about… well... my friends.” At the last bit, her shoulders slumped and she sounded so exasperated. Her change in expression was so drastic that Zuko felt a laugh bubble up in his chest. Immediately, Katara’s eyes narrowed but he shook his head and explained himself.

“Sorry, I just didn’t think you’d be so worried,” he chuckled again but then smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Your friends have been great,” he reassured her, “I should probably be the one apologizing… being the random stranger crashing your party and all.”

Katara pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side in thought. As she did, her hair fell to the side, revealing the slope of her neck. Zuko found himself staring at the blue choker sitting tight against her throat.

“What major are you?” Katara suddenly said and the innocence of her voice when she asked the question yanked him back from his drunken thoughts immediately.

He snorted, “What? My major? Are we doing class ice breakers?”

Katara rolled her eyes at him, but her cheeks tinted a little in embarrassment. “I’m just trying to be nice, okay?” she said defensively, turning her nose away from him. “You don’t have to make fun of me. You called yourself a stranger so I’m just trying to get to know you, jeez.”

She still didn’t look at him, but she didn’t leave either which made Zuko smile.

“Literature,” he replied matter-of-factly.

She started and turned back to face him. “Really!?”

Zuko frowned. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

“I don’t know. I just didn’t expect that,” she said, looking him up and down again. Zuko was wearing a normal Zuko outfit: black pants, red t-shirt, classic vans, and the denim jacket he’d stolen from Uncle a few years ago. “You don’t seem like a lit kid.”

Zuko quirked an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“I figured if you were a lit major you’d be wearing a turtleneck or something,” she said honestly which made Zuko laugh.

“Okay,” he reasoned, “well then what do you think I look like?”

Katara gave him a hard stare and chewed on her lip in thought. Zuko waited.

“Business?” she said with hesitation, but shook her head before Zuko could reply, “No, no, no maybe International Studies… but, ah, you’re not… _trendy_ enough looking for that… maybe Poli Sci?” she scrunched up her nose in frustration which made Zuko smirk again. “Oh, I don’t know but not lit.”

“You know you’re not wrong, actually,” he told her with a sly grin and her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Really? How?”

Zuko shrugged, he hadn’t noticed he’d finished his drink, but his cup was empty and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. The room still wasn’t spinning, but he figured he should probably stop now and drink more water.

“I actually have enough credits to do Poli Sci. Maybe even International Studies if I took another language class next semester,” he replied.

Katara’s eyebrows knit together, “So are you double majoring?”

Zuko pursed his lips. “Ah, no…” he replied hesitantly, not wanting to dive much deeper into the topic. “Lit is more interesting anyways…” he said dismissively before turning the topic back to Katara. “But what about you? You seem like the social science type.”

At his guess, she sighed, “Yeah, right on the bulls-eye.” She tilted her head to the side and raised her pointer finger to her chin with a grin. “Sociology.”

“Mmm, I can see that,” Zuko hummed. “I took a sociology class once, the one on global health. I really liked it.”

Katara brightened. “Oh with Professor Kyoshi! I’m taking it right now, and I love it so much. She’s such a badass.”

“She really is,” he agreed. Kyoshi was well known on campus for not sugarcoating her words, especially when it came to the devil’s advocate types who didn’t take her class seriously.

“Ah I just love when she asks us the hard questions, it really helps me to understand what we can and should be doing as students,” Katara continued. She was positively beaming which made Zuko smile. “Plus, learning about health on a global scale is so cool!” 

They chatted amiably back and forth for a few more minutes. Eventually the sounds of the party faded away a bit as it took most of Zuko’s concentration to focus on what she was saying in his drunken state. 

That was until Suki poked her head back into the kitchen.

“Hey! You two want next game?”

Before he could politely decline, Katara answered.

“Sure, why not,” she said with a shrug, “That is if you don’t mind, Zuko?”

Zuko grimaced, “I hate to break it to you, Katara… I’m not that great at BP.” He touched the back of his hand to his red cheeks, feeling how warm they were. “Plus, I’m a little tipsy. You’d probably be better off with Toph.”

Katara pursed her lip, mulling over his answer, before sighing. “Alright, well, I can’t force you,” she conceded as she pushed off the counter and headed for the doorway. “I’ll ask Toph, but if she says no you have to join me, deal?”

Zuko nodded, and gave her a half-hearted wave. “Alright, good luck,” he said, but Katara didn’t leave.

Instead, she tilted her head, motioning for him to follow.

“You still have to watch,” she informed him. “I’ll even let you be my celebrity shot.”

Zuko sighed, not quite ready for the embarrassment he was about to experience when he completely missed the table. Still, despite himself, he followed after her anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all I finally finished up classes (and my undergraduate degree hehehe). This fic has become very cathartic for me and fun to write since it's pretty lighthearted compared to my other fic.
> 
> Also, it feels weird posting anything of my own without addressing world issues. Idk if it's unusual to not be apolitical out here on AO3, but also like whatever this be my fic so #BLM & #DefundThePolice and here are some of my favorite texts by BIPOC that are not much longer than some fics on this site:
> 
> "The Master's Tools will Never Dismantle the Master's House" by Audre Lorde and any of her other essays in Sister Outsider
> 
> Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis
> 
> Also "Decolonization is Not a Metaphor" by Tuck and Yang and anything by Leanne Simpson if you're interested in decolonization and Indigenous Studies because let's be real Katara would be ALL ABOUT THAT. lmao.
> 
> Sorry for the super long A/N. As always, thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments. They really make my day so I'm going to try and reply when I can. <3 Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Thanks again!


	4. Inebriation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So you like Katara, right? Are you guys talking or something?”
> 
> Zuko choked on his drink.
> 
> “Sorry, what?” he asked hoarsely as he tried to clear his throat without falling into a coughing fit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Sorry for the long wait, this chapter was hard for me to write and felt pretty filler-y. Still, hope you enjoy!

Maybe asking Zuko to be her partner wasn’t the best idea after all.

Toph had instantly refused Katara’s request, insisting that playing against Sokka and Suki again would be a “waste of her precious energy”. Toph did, however, seem to have enough energy to cajole Zuko into playing a round, hence the current situation. 

Katara couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty as she watched another one of the ping pong balls Zuko tossed soar completely over the far end of the table. As Sokka rushed to retrieve it from behind the sofa, Zuko turned to her with a grimace.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was ass at beer pong,”

Katara sighed - she wasn’t going to deny it. He hadn’t managed to even _hit_ any of the cups let alone sink a shot.

Still, she stepped forward to line up for her turn. Narrowing her eyes, she focused intensely on the back right cup, willing the room swimming before her eyes to still. She wasn’t drunk, just a bit buzzed, and had won games when she was much more wasted. Katara held her breath and with a flick of her wrist the tiny white ball landed squarely in her target with a satisfying plop. 

Suki groaned, “C’mon, Katara! That’s two in a row!”

Katara stuck her tongue out at her roommate as the latter took a long swig from her cup. She turned to Zuko with a smug grin that only grew wider at his impressed expression.

“No worries,” Katara said cheekily to Zuko. “I’m perfectly capable of carrying our team.”

Zuko frowned, not sure what to say to that, and Katara giggled before spinning on her heel and turning her attention back to the table where Sokka wound up for a trick shot. Unfortunately, Katara had definitely spoken too soon as Sokka threw a fast ball that bounced off the table and flew into a cup at a low angle. He hooted and Suki pumped her fist into the air proclaiming, “That’s two cups! Nice one, Sokka!”

Sokka grinned and gave Suki a peck on the cheek as he nudged her forward. “Alright, Suki,” he said, “You know what you got to do. Make me proud.”

Suki exhaled deeply and lined up her shot in a similar manner to Katara. When she released the ball it fell in a much more graceful arc than Sokka’s had and landed in the same cup as his.

As Sokka and Suki cheered, Katara felt all the confidence she’d been experiencing seconds ago fall straight past the pit of her stomach and into the floor.

“Bottoms up guys! That’s…” Sokka paused to count the cups they’d knocked out before grinning wickedly. “Four drinks!”

Katara groaned as she reached for her drink, but to her surprise Zuko stopped her with a hand on top of hers.

“I got it,” he said in response to Katara’s raised eyebrow. “If I can’t make a shot I might as well take the drinks for you.”

Katara pursed her lips, words of protest bubbling in her throat, but Zuko ignored her and raised his own full cup to his lips and drank it steadily. Katara was impressed by how easily he took the mixed drink. As he downed it, her eyes trailed down to his throat as his adam’s apple bobbed with each gulp. The hue from the ever changing lights reflected off his pale skin like watercolors on a blank canvas and Katara found herself staring, her alcohol-numbed brain bringing up no thoughts but one.

_Hm._

Before she could parse out what that meant, Zuko lowered his cup with an exhale and brought the back of his hand to his lips to wipe away the moisture. Katara blinked a few times not sure what to say until Zuko gave her an awkward grin and an almost goofy thumbs up that snapped her out of her stupor.

Katara covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her snort before turning her attention back to the table.

Okay maybe playing with Zuko wasn’t the worst thing ever.

* * *

Despite their best attempts, the game still ended pretty quickly with Sokka and Suki dominating over them. However, Katara was glad that Zuko did end up improving slightly near the end. By the final rounds he was at least consistently hitting the table and even had a few that ricocheted off the edges of the cups. Still, Suki and Sokka’s fantastic start and the fact that they made a formidable team meant they ended up winning by 3 cups. As per tradition, Suki doled out punishment and handed Katara a cup filled with a mysterious concoction - one made by Sokka based on the sadistic grin on his face.

Katara felt the bitterness of their defeat wash into her stomach - along with the questionable liquid in the bitch cup she had to drink as punishment.

“God,” she winced after taking a tiny sip. “There is definitely tequila in this and it burns so bad. Sokka must have at least put 4 shots in here and who knows what else.”

After their game, Katara had retreated to the other room and nestled herself into the L-shaped couch tucked in the corner. It was pretty worn down, like a lot of furniture in the house, and she picked at the stuffing that was poking out of the seams of the cushion she sat on. Zuko sat beside her, tapping his foot to the music playing and rubbing his hand to the back of his neck. He did that a lot, Katara was starting to notice.

As if hearing her thoughts, Zuko turned to her, eyebrows creased and a small frown on his face. 

“Do you want me to drink it for you?” he said, his voice tinged with guilt. “I promise the drinks from the game have barely registered.”

Katara looked at him skeptically to which Zuko raised an eyebrow. “What? I can prove it to you if you want?” 

Katara smirked.

“Okay,” she replied. “Walk heel to toe in a straight line across the room and back.”

Zuko blanched. “Oh, uhm… If you want me to?” He glanced around, wiping his palms on his pants as he stood up awkwardly.

Katara giggled. “I’m kidding, Zuko,” she admitted with a smile. “Don’t worry I believe you.” Zuko seemed relieved as he sat gingerly back on the couch. 

Katara sighed, her head felt heavy and she swayed backwards until her back hit the couch cushion. It was getting really hot. Too hot. 

Still she brought the cup to her lips for another sip. “Honestly, as much as I want to say yes to sharing, I’d much rather you be clear headed and walk Toph home.”

At that both of them turned their attention to the girl in question. Most of the partygoers were in the room they’d just left, engaged in a new drinking game, led by Sokka of course, so the commotion had migrated away from the living room. That was with the exception of the girl in question who was currently rolling around on the floor cackling as she had apparently beaten one of Sokka’s soccer friends in an arm wrestling contest.

“Does she usually get like this?” Zuko asked as Toph flopped onto her stomach and slapped her hands to the wooden floor with a loud _SMACK._

“Every time,” Katara replied before taking another nauseating gulp and gagging. Ugh. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just plug her nose and chug it.

“Well at least she’s having fun.”

At that Toph jumped back to her feet and pointed at another one of Sokka’s soccer friends, “You’re up! Or are you going to lose to a little girl too?” The guy who she was pointing at blinked and looked around at his friends for help, but all of them looked away immediately.

“Yeah,” Katara agreed. “Loads of fun.”

Katara reached up to plug her nose as she tried to take a bigger gulp of her drink. The taste wasn’t that bad, but it burned on the way down and made her cough and wince again. At this, Zuko’s brow creased again.

“If you don’t want to share at least let me get you some mixer? It’ll make it taste better.”

Katara pursed her lip but then acquiesced. The drink did taste like acid after all and he kind of owed her. “Okay. But don’t tell Sokka or he’ll get mad and say some shit about how I’m embarrassing him for being weak.”

Zuko snorted at her comment and Katara felt her cheeks warm even more. He then stood up and brushed his hands on his pant legs before stepping around the coffee table and heading towards the kitchen. Katara watched him go and bit her lip. 

The night was going well right? She still felt responsible for Toph dragging him out here, but he didn’t seem to show any sign that he was uncomfortable. She sighed and her eyes drifted around the room, everyone seemed pretty chill - aside from Toph - and the music had changed from EDM to some poppy punk song. Katara closed her eyes and tilted her head back. 

Zuko was really a nice guy, she decided. She’d been worried he would feel awkward or upset to be surrounded by strangers but it really seemed like he was having a decent time. He had a nice presence - quiet, but not in an unsettling or awkward way. Maybe even weirdly comforting - which she guessed was odd to think about someone she’d just met.

Katara hadn’t noticed someone approach her until she felt the couch cushion shift under the weight of a person taking the empty space next to her. She opened her eyes slowly and turned to her right, assuming it would be Zuko, but was instead met with a flash of green.

“Oh, hey, Haru,” Katara greeted the newcomer. “How are you?”

Haru grinned at her and with the movement of his lip Katara couldn’t help her eyes flashing down to his absurdly thin mustache. _Oh boy._

Haru didn’t seem to notice her slip-up, however, and simply reclined back onto the couch. “Oh, you know, same old same old. Been going out for drinks on the weekends, playing soccer with Sokka, the usual.”

“Sounds like a pretty chill semester” Katara replied, her eyes drifting away again. Haru was wearing these odd looking sandals, very hippie-chic with leather straps that hugged his toes. _I bet Aang would wear those._

“Well, yeah, it’s my last year after all,” Haru continued. “I got to do the things I enjoy before I leave.

Katara agreed, nodding to Haru before taking another sip of her drink. To her surprise, the cup was already about half empty. She licked her lips. Why had she been complaining earlier? It tasted fine now. She should tell Zuko, she decided, he’d been offering to take the rest of her drink, but look at her now - handling it. 

_But where did he go?_ Katara looked around the room and didn’t see Zuko. There was Toph rolling around on the ground next to Aang who was chattering to her as usual. Sokka and Suki were over by the speaker now, probably scrolling through playlists, but there was no Zuko. Katara felt a bubble of worry rise in her chest. 

“Seems like you’re making some good memories,” Haru said.

“Sorry, what?” Katara mumbled, eyes still scanning the room for her friend.

“Oh you know, you never come to Sokka’s parties anymore. Plus you even brought a date this time.”

That surprised her. Katara blinked and turned back to Haru in confusion, “Date?”

Haru pointed towards the kitchen. “The guy that went to the kitchen to get you another drink?”

Katara glanced quickly towards the kitchen and sure enough she could just make out the sleeve of Zuko’s denim jacket.

“Oh! You mean Zuko? No, No - we’re just friends,”

Haru raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay, Katara,” he said incredulously. “I guess this is like you, though. You always have to have some new guy to help out.”

Katara frowned, sensing there was more than what he was saying. Before she could reply, however, the topic of their conversation returned, coughing awkwardly to announce his presence. 

“Uhm, sorry I took so long, “ Zuko started explaining. “I wanted to make myself one of those drinks you made earlier. The melon one?”

She nodded knowingly, “Yes, good idea.”

He handed her the other cup in his hand as he sat down next to her. “Here. I wasn’t sure what mixer you wanted so I just got you Coke since it will probably cover up whatever alcohol is in there the best. ”

Oh right, she remembered, he was getting her mixer. How did she forget?

Katara thanked him and carefully poured the contents of her cup into the new one. After she finished, she took a tentative sip and smiled. She couldn’t taste any alcohol.

As Katara was preoccupied, she heard Haru address Zuko. “Hey, man, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Haru.”

“Oh, uh, Zuko,” the other boy replied. “Yeah, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“No, I’m positive, I’d definitely remember your face.”

Katara turned to Haru. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked abruptly.

Haru shrunk back. “Oh, I’m, uh, just good with faces, is all I meant, Katara.”

“Right,” Katara replied, giving him a look through narrowed eyes. She wasn’t going to let him be rude to some guy he just met. Especially one who just got her Coke.

Oh, right, the drink.

Katara took another big gulp from her cup before putting it not so roughly onto the coffee table. It was empty.

“Zuko, this is Haru,” Katara started, gesturing loosely to the boy in green to her right. “He and Sokka play soccer together. Haru, this is Zuko. I almost killed him with my air conditioner a few weeks ago.”

“Wait, what?” Haru asked, but Katara ignored him, instead choosing to stand up.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Katara said frankly and scooted quickly around Zuko’s legs before heading down the hallway towards the stairs, leaving the two boys to themselves.

As she walked, she hiccuped and traced her hand along the railing of the stairs. The room was really spinning now.

_Did I finish my drink?_

Her hand hit the door of the bathroom and she shoved it open.

_I think I finished my drink? Did I leave it there? Mmm hopefully I finished it so Sokka doesn’t get upset._

Katara stared at her reflection in the mirror.

_Oh man my cheeks are red._

She grimaced as she tried to rub at the smeared mascara under her eyes with her fingertips. It wouldn’t budge. With a sigh, she gave up and instead turned on the faucet to run her hands underneath the stream.

“Okay, Katara,” she said sternly to the face in the mirror, “No more drinks.”

With that she slapped the sides of her face with wet hands and gave another determined look into the spinning mirror.

“No more drinks.”

At least that’s what she told herself.

* * *

“So you like Katara, right? Are you guys _talking_ or something?”

Zuko choked on his drink.

“Sorry, what?” he asked hoarsely as he tried to clear his throat without falling into a coughing fit.

Haru pursed his lip and repeated the question.

This made Zuko bristle. _First Toph, now Haru... Are all their friends like this?_

Still, he answered, “Oh, uh, no I don’t. And also no. I think she brought me because she feels like she owes me something is all…”

After saying that, Zuko wondered if that was true. Hopefully not, he’d like to be friends at least.

Haru seemed dissatisfied with his response but didn’t press further. “Hm, okay, just thought I’d check in so you don’t get your hopes up. Katara doesn’t really date anyone.” At that he pulled out his phone to answer a text message, momentarily directing his attention away from Zuko.

“Well, thanks, I guess?” Zuko mumbled, sipping his drink again and letting his eyes wander around the room. Something about this conversation rubbed him the wrong way, but Haru didn’t seem aware of it. Honestly, it was probably just him being awkward.

“So you into soccer?” Haru asked, finally changing the subject as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

“No, sorry. I tried once and was never really good at it.”

Haru pursed his lips and Zuko tried not to be distracted as the mustache on his upper lip wiggled.

“Ah that’s a shame. We need a new guy on the team after all and you seem pretty fit!”

Zuko rubbed his neck, embarrassed slightly at the comment. “Ah, sorry about that. I’ve never been one for team sports.”

More so his father didn’t allow him that sort of fun, but he wasn’t about to tell Haru that.

Haru nods, “Well that’s fine. If you’re ever down to try it out, though, you’re definitely welcome! I’m sure Sokka wouldn’t mind either, right, Sokka?”

At that a hand clapped down on Zuko’s shoulder - it was Sokka, of course.

“Yeah, we’re the defending champs this year, but we’re short a member.”

Zuko’s eyes widened, “Wait like… nationally?”

Haru snorted which confused Zuko, but Sokka clarified as he sank down in the seat next to him.

“Nah, man, intramural!”

The grin on Sokka’s face coerced a smile out of Zuko, despite himself. Something about Sokka’s jovial nature was infectious.

Haru laughed, “Okay, but it’s pretty stiff competition! The club soccer team has some players on the intramural teams.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Sokka agreed. “Plus the women’s rugby team is pretty fierce too.” With that, Sokka visibly shuddered before continuing. “Last year, when we played them I got cleated by their captain and had this huge gash on my leg for weeks.”

Haru let out a low whistle, “Oh man, I remember that! You’d think they were wearing metal spikes or something. Smellerbee is terrifying.”

At this Zuko raised an eyebrow, “Smellerbee?”

“Their captain,” Haru clarified. “We don’t actually know her real name, but that’s what her teammates call her.”

“Ugh,” Sokka said, with another shudder. “It’s a good thing Katara was around to patch me up. Without her, I probably would have lost a leg.”

Zuko let out a small smile at that. 

The three boys continued to talk for a few minutes, Sokka and Haru asking Zuko polite questions about classes and other things he liked to do. Sokka seemed particularly interested in Zuko’s experience with judo and kendo, asking the latter to give him some pointers because he was tired of Suki and Toph knocking him down all the time with their taekwondo skills. Zuko imagined a tiny Toph kicking Sokka’s knees out and grimaced. No doubt that was painful.

After a while Haru excused himself to join a big group of partygoers that came to say goodbye to Sokka. 

“Nice, meeting you, Zuko,” Haru said with a grin. “See you around and hope you do end up joining our team!”

Zuko nodded politely and offered the mustached man another wave as he left.

The party had quieted down a lot, maybe less than a dozen people left. Surprisingly, Zuko didn’t seem to see any of the people he was introduced to - namely Katara, Suki, Aang or Toph.

“Where is my little sister by the way?” Sokka asked, as if reading his mind. “I hope my invention didn’t kill her. Gran-Gran would have my head.”

“She said she was going to the bathroom a while ago,” Zuko replied, gesturing over his shoulder to the hallway. 

“Ah, that explains where Suki went,” Sokka mused. “She probably went to go check on Katara.“

At that, Sokka stood and motioned for Zuko to follow. “C’mon, I bet they’re in my room.”

* * *

Sokka’s room was one of the three bedrooms upstairs. The smallest, Sokka had explained to Zuko, but also the only single.

“It was apparently the maid’s quarters or something, but it has a window and it fits my bed. I spend more of my time at Suki and Katara’s anyways so it’s not really a big deal.”

Upon reaching his room, Zuko realized that small was an understatement. it was not much larger than a shoebox, with just a twin-size bed, a tiny desk with a chair, and a faded rug on the floor. There wasn’t even a closet, making Zuko wonder where Sokka kept his clothes. 

Still, it wasn’t an unlivable space, Zuko recognized, and Sokka seemed to have done his best to make it feel more his. There were a couple posters on the walls for sci-fi movies that Zuko recognized and a flag for the Southern Water Tribe. The window above the bed pointed out to the street too, so it probably got some decent light during the day time. It seemed like a nice space for one person, but probably not the four that were currently occupying it.

Like Sokka had predicted, the tiny space was filled with four bodies - Katara and Suki on the bed, Aang in the chair, and Toph on the floor.

“Oh, hey guys!” Suki smiled brightly when the door opened, “I was wondering when you’d find us.”

Sokka rolled his eyes, leaning on the doorframe as the space was too small for him and Zuko to enter. “What do you mean, find you guys? Y’all always end up here after a party.”

“That is true, Sokka,” Aang replied from the chair. “We wanted to see what snacks you’re hiding.”

At that Sokka’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, man, don’t tell me you ate all my chips.”

Aang looked sheepish, “Okay, I didn’t… but Toph is another story.”

Toph huffed and kicked Aang playfully from where she lay on the floor. “Way to rat me out, twinkletoes.”

“Anyways,” Suki continued, choosing to ignore the scuffle between Toph and Aang. “I’m glad you guys are here, I think we’re going to need some help heading home.”

At that she slid a bit to the side to reveal a snoozing Katara nestled in the corner of Sokka’s bed. That explains why she hadn’t come back downstairs, Zuko realized.

“We were playing Never Have I Ever and I think she had a _little_ too much to drink,” Suki explained.

“Yeah,” Aang conjected, “Katara and Toph were getting really competitive so it was just them taking turns drinking basically.”

“Ugh, at least I won,” Toph mumbled from the ground. At that Zuko squatted down and tapped on her forehead.

“You alright, Beifong?”

Toph didn’t open her eyes, but she smirked. “Oh, if it isn’t Mr. Hothead. Did you have a good time?”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “I did actually. Now do you want me to take you home?”

Toph nodded, still not opening her eyes or moving from the ground.

Zuko sighed and stood up, “I can take Toph back to campus. She probably needs to be carried.”

Suki and Sokka had been murmuring something to each other and as Zuko spoke they shot each other a quick glance. 

“You know, it might be more efficient if I take Toph,” Sokka mused, rubbing a hand to his chin. Zuko’s brow furrowed. 

“Aren’t you helping Suki with Katara?”

Sokka blinked twice before turning to Suki. She cleared her throat. “Oh right. Well, we know you live next door to us and campus is in the opposite direction from your apartment…” Zuko raised an eyebrow having a feeling where this was going. “So if you don’t mind, we figured it’d be easier for you to help me with Katara while Sokka will help Toph and Aang.”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Sokka said as he squatted down next to Toph, “Aang and I usually end up bringing Toph home anyways. Katara’s usually fine on her own, but I’m glad you’re here today.”

At that, Sokka and Aang moved to help Toph off the ground and onto Sokka’s back. She grumbled a little bit but then nestlesnestled her head onto his left shoulder.

“Let’s get pancakes tomorrow,” she muttered, Zuko wasn't sure who she was addressing but Sokka snorted.

“Okay, Toph, we’ll all get pancakes tomorrow,” he reassured her.

“Tell Zuko to come,” she mumbled again and at that Sokka gives Zuko a pointed look.

“You heard the lady, Zuko. If you’re not busy tomorrow you’re free to come get pancakes with us.”

Aang smiled brightly at him, “You should come! They’re really delicious.”

Zuko felt his face redden, a bit embarrassed as the invitation shouldn’t have made him as happy as he felt. “Oh, yeah sure… I don’t have any plans until the evening.”

Toph shifted on Sokka’s back. “Good,” she sighs before thumping her forehead onto Sokka’s shoulder. “Ready now, let’s book it.”

Everyone snorted and Sokka rolled his eyes. Suki moved to give him a peck on the cheek and soon enough Sokka and Aang are out the door, the latter giving them all a little wave as he left.

After they’re gone Suki sighed, and plopped back down on the bed to poke Katara.

“Hey, we’re going,” she said gently.

Katara’s face scrunched up in annoyance and she turned away from them with a groan.

“Don’t wanna.”

Suki sighed again, “Okay, but Katara you know you hate staying over at Sokka’s because of how loud his housemates are. Besides you don’t have to walk, Zuko will carry you.”

At that, Zuko felt his face redden even more. He didn’t know that was what Suki meant by helping her.

At his name, Katara opened her eyes and blinked before looking up at him with tired blue eyes.

“Oh, hello, Zuko.”

Zuko swallowed thickly. “Uh, hey, Katara. You ready to go home?”

She nodded before sitting up and reaching out her hands towards him.

Zuko turned around and lowered onto one knee so Katara could more easily wrap her legs around his torso for a piggy-back. Zuko tried not to think of much as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he gripped her thighs with his hands to hoist her a little higher on his back. 

He cleared his throat. _Yup, totally fine._

Suki, ever ahead, stood in the doorway and offered him a sheepish smile. “Thanks, again, Zuko. I honestly didn’t expect this to happen when I invited the two of you.”

Zuko got to his feet and felt as Katara adjusted herself to feel comfortable on his back. Her head nestled on his shoulder and her long hair tickled the side of his face and neck. She smelled like soap and flowers.

“It’s no problem,” Zuko replied, “I had a good time.”

Suki nodded and offered him another smile before tilting her head towards the hall, a signal telling Zuko to head downstairs first. 

* * *

The walk back went by pretty quickly, with Suki keeping up an easy-going conversation that even someone as reserved as Zuko could keep up with. Katara stayed quiet, Zuko not wondering much about it until he realized half-way through her walk that she’d fallen asleep. As the group made their way down the street, he could feel her warm breath on his neck and she sighed in her sleep.

“She’s gonna be pissed at Sokka tomorrow when she remembers what happened,” Suki told him as they waited for the walk sign to blink on. There were no cars at this time of night, but Zuko didn’t want to hurry across with Katara on his back. “I’m 99% sure it was the bitch cup he gave her that did her in.”

Zuko sighed, “I offered to drink it for her since it was my fault we lost but she refused.”

“Typical Katara. So stubborn.”

At that, the light changed and they finally arrived at Suki and Katara’s building.

“Katara, you gotta walk now. We’re here,” Suki told her roommate, shaking her gently. Zuko felt Katara shift on his back again.

“Mmmm, no. It’s warm,” she contested, leaning her head to press her cheek into Zuko’s neck. He felt his face heat up and he hoped she didn’t notice.

Suki huffed, before swinging around to face Zuko again. “Do you mind bringing her upstairs? I know it’s getting late.”

Zuko shrugged, or shrugged the best that he could with Katara wrapped over his shoulders. “It’s no problem.”

Thankfully, the two girls lived on the second floor - something he remembered from Katara and his first meeting. As they got to their apartment, Suki opened the door for Zuko and ushered him in.

Their apartment was small, but it felt cozy and lived in. The TV sat on an entertainment unit that was stuffed to the brim with books, making Zuko wonder which one of them was the big reader. There were a couple plants here and there and a stack of folded blankets on one end of their blue couch that Zuko could easily see Toph snuggling herself under. The coffee table was littered with a couple of mugs of tea and one of their laptops, covered with stickers.

“You can just drop her on the couch, Zuko,” Suki told him as she kicked off her shoes and shuffled over to unfurl one of the folded blankets. “Katara gets weird about getting in bed with her ‘outside clothes’.”

Zuko chuckled but then obeyed. He lowered himself down so that Katara’s lower half landed gently on the couch cushion. Suki stood behind her and caught her shoulders to help move her into a lying position. Afterwards, the older girl pulled both of Katara’s sneakers off and tucked the fuzzy blanket around her friend.

Katara stirred again, pulling the blanket up to her nose and sighing happily. She looked cute, Zuko realized again and much to his dismay.

At that Suki gave a short laugh before smiling at Zuko.

“Thanks so much, Zuko,” she told him. “This would have been a lot more difficult without your help.”

Zuko blushed again, feeling a bit uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck. “‘It’s no problem,” he mumbled.

Suki shrugged, moving with him towards the door. As he slipped his shoes back on, the girl seemed to remember something, dropping a fist into the palm of her hand. 

“Oh, right, pancakes!” she said. “Don’t forget! We can meet downstairs around noon or so?”

Zuko nodded, pretty sure Toph wouldn’t let him miss it. (Although, part of him felt a bit excited at hanging out with everyone again.)

Suki beamed, “Perfect! See you then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've been in this pandemic so long, that I forgot what it's like to be at a party lol
> 
> Also, I know that rules for BP vary a lot depending on different people's house rules, so this is based mostly on the ones I've used.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading :)


End file.
